


Tony's Nest

by Nimiamlove



Series: Ficlets [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Protective Avengers, Protective Steve Rogers, Sleepy Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 20:18:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10974621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nimiamlove/pseuds/Nimiamlove
Summary: After a difficult mission each one of the team had their routine to unwind, but an attack on the tower reveals Tony's. Tony is a bit embarrassed but Steve loves him anyway.- and Clint was just excited to have a nest bro.





	Tony's Nest

Tony glanced at his bed and sighed, today is going to be one of those days.

He walked towards his bed and picked up his pillow, not even giving the mattress a second glance, he just wasn’t in the mood of sleeping on it today.

Tony knew he had issues: he didn’t get along with his dad, and there was the drinking, and he didn’t like to be handed things and now (after his fall from the sky) his panic attacks. The list never stopped growing, but this -he dared to call- a quirk of his was the cherry on top.

He opened the closet doors and peered inside, glancing at the big space full of fancy clothes and accessories.

He entered and closed the door behind him, like he usually did when he had one of those nights, and crawled to his usual spot on the bottom of the wardrobe beneath his suits. It was a tight fit but he wasn’t big and he was used to it.

Tony doesn’t remember exactly how this habit started but must have been with his drunken dad. The first memory he has on hiding beneath his winter coats was of waking up late at night with a man angrily screaming his name, and since that night the closet became one of his best friends.

Even with aging this habit didn’t disappear, and it was worse when he came back from Afghanistan; he slept in the closet almost every night and when he didn’t it was because he couldn’t sleep.

Tony fluffed up the pillow and put it on the wardrobe’s floor to lie on it. He curled into himself. For an outsider viewer it appeared to be very uncomfortable, but for the brunet, it was cozy.

The thing Tony most liked on sleeping in there was the fact he was never caught. No one could see him with the number of clothes there is covering him from sight.

He felt safe and protected. And peaceful sleep soon came to him.

 

─═☆☆═─  

 

Natasha got out from the elevator with silent steps, she knew it is wrong to steal Tony’s coffee, but she also supposed he could always buy more.

She entered the penthouse kitchen, smirking when she saw a familiar figure lit by the fridge light.

Natasha turned on the lights with glee knowing that would spook the man. “Jarvis does Tony knows he has a rat eating his cheese?!”

Clint jumped, hitting his head on the top shelf of the fridge. “Damn Nat, you scared me, warn a guy will ya.”

“Unfortunately not, Miss Romanoff”. The AI added.

Clint pouted and turned around to face the redhead; holding in his hands a fancy plate full of cheese. “Ony dosnned toknw”. The archer spoke with his mouth full, bits of cheese flying everywhere.

“You are disgusting”. The redhead spy said with a twitch of her nose, showing her disdain.

Clint swallowed the rest of the cheese and repeated what he said. “Tony doesn’t need to know”.

Natasha hums, clearly not impressed with his antics, and went to the coffee machine near the sink.

“You can’t berate me either, coffee thief,” Clint says, moving to sit on the countertop with his plate.

“Well, I won’t tell if you don’t and neither Jarvis, right?” She turned on the machine, giving a small inquisitive glance at the ceiling.

“My non-existent lips are sealed.” The AI said.

Both spies chuckled; the AI is accustomed to their presence on Tony's floor by now.

A comfortable silence took place in the kitchen for a moment, broken only by the beeping that signaled the coffee was ready.

Natasha took her full cup and sat down in front of the archer, whose eyes were far away; a look he always has after a bad mission. And considering that today’s mission was bad she though it was probably it.

“I can’t sleep either.” She started, making the blond spy glance at her.

Clint signed and pushed the plate of cheese away like he couldn’t bear the sight of it.

"All those children, Nat, if we hadn’t arrived on time they would have been sold, dead or worse.” The archer glanced away, remembering all the suffering he saw in the children eyes.

“Clint, we got there and stopped all the human trafficking in that region, thanks to us they are back to their families; remember that.” She looked at him with kindness, trying to take away his pain.

He sighed. “It’s just so fucked up, to sell kids. They are just kids you know.” Clint looked at her with exasperation and a slight wetness in his eyes that she chooses not to comment. She ends up nodding, understanding what Clint wasn’t saying.

Today’s mission hit them too close to home, none of them had a good childhood even if Tony denied his. She never saw Captain America so pissed on a mission before and Iron Man so deadly that he… She still can sense the smell of burned flesh under her nose.

The archer continued, taking her mind away from the memory. “I just glad Hulk wasn’t there, ya know, he would have killed all the goons and there wouldn’t be anyone left for us to interrogate,” he said with a wicked smile, appreciating the idea of revenge.

She returned the evil smirk, also enjoying that thought.

“Jarvis; talking about the big green…. When Bruce is due to come back from India?” Clint asked the ceiling.

“Doctor Banner is scheduled tooo… Bbrrzzzzzz!” The AI’s voice died suddenly.

Both spies glanced concerned at each other as the lights went off along with all electronic appliances in the room.

Nat got up fast and looked thru the window, observing the rest of the city “It just the tower.”

“Generator should be working already,” Clint added worried, picking up the sharp knife he used to cut the cheese; adrenaline starting to run in his body.

“The arc reactor doesn’t fail,” Natasha says peering inside the kitchen cabinet, the one she hid her gun when she moved in.

Both spies left the kitchen carefully, observing the darkened room lit by the moonlight coming from the window with weapons at standby.

They heard the elevator ding, announcing the arrival of someone.

The spies lowered themselves to the ground, waiting.

 

─═☆☆═─

 

Steve gave one last uppercut on the punching bag before it went flying into the nearest wall. It was the fourth already.

He was mad, not mad, no, pissed. Today’s mission went out of control, Iron Man went rogue on the bad guys along with Hawkeye. Not that Steve could blame them, he wasn’t too far behind.

Those men had no right to touch those children, to take them from their homes and sell them like they were things, objects.

He breathes in deeply, trying to dissuade his anger. That had been the last reinforced punch bag in the gym after all.

Steve picked up his water bottle and walked to the bench, the one he left his small white towel. The only thing about the mission he was glad for is that he caught all the perpetrators, at least, the ones that Tony didn't put a hole in the middle.

 _Tony_ , Steve thought wistful for a moment with a sigh. The brunet had such a wretched expression when the armored suit came off after the mission that the soldier would do anything to take that look away from his face.

 _Including kissing him senseless, right?!_ A part of his brain put in, making the soldier blush scarlet.

Steve rubbed the towel hard on his face, trying to stop that line of thinking about the short brunet from invading his mind.

 _Soon_ , the soldier told himself; soon he would corner Tony and declare his feelings to the genius.

The soldier decided it was best to call it a night and go to his bed.

Steve left the gym thinking about his plans of wooing the genius and went to the elevator when he heard a curse coming from the electronic panel nearby. He thought he was alone on that floor.

He stopped in mid-step and went in the direction of the noise. Steve came face to face with two men wearing weird clothes.

The lights went out.

 

  ─═☆☆═─

 

“Gosh, what are they wearing,” Clint whispered.

 “Some kind of protective clothing” Nat whispered back.

“Only if it's against bees”

“Shhh, they are going to Tony’s bedroom” Nat observed from her position behind the pillar.

“You take the two in the front and I do the three on the back” Clint signed to her with his hand.

The redhead spy nodded in agreement.

The archer counted to five. They both attacked on four.

 

─═☆☆═─

 

Steve attacked both with only one punch that made them topple over each other. The soldier didn’t wait for them to get up; he knocked them out with a quick kick to the head.

The blond picked up the bloodied men and threw them over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and ran fast to the Hulk’s playroom, that place didn’t use power to function and was impossible to get out.

After that Steve ran up the stairs, he had to see if ~~his babe~~ Tony was okay.

 

─═☆☆═─

 

“Catch him, Clint!” Natasha shouted for her position over goon number one. Goon number five, four and three were already down.

“Ouch,” Clint crouched fast “that bastard has a laser gun or something.”

“Let’s trade!” Nat jumped to her feet and sprung into a run while Clint held down goon number one.

The redhead spy toppled over the man knocking them both to the ground right in front Tony’s door.

They fought hard until Nat shot him in the stomach at the same time the guy shot her on the shoulder.

She fell a little to the side and that was enough time for goon number two seize a grenade from his yellow jumpsuit.

“If A.I.M. can’t have him, no one can!” The yellow-clothed man yells as he turned the doorknob of the door near the wall he was leaning to and throws the grenade inside.

Her eyes widened and she reached forward, but then, it was late.

 

─═☆☆═─

 

Steve ran up the stairs and found two more men with weird electronic devices on their hands. The soldier knocked them out fast and broke their devices; instantly the emergency lights flickered on.

He left the men there, his concern about Tony dominating his mind. He entered the penthouse like a hurricane, expecting a fight.

What he didn’t expect was to see two spies almost crying.

Steve took the scene before his eyes and felt dread take over his body. “Tony!” he screamed and moved to the door he knew it was Tony’s bedroom, but both SHIELD agents got in front of him blocking his way.

“Steve, it was a gas grenade, look what it did to him!” Nat stopped him with a hand on his chest, motioning her head for the thug she shot and used the body to seal the small gap between door and floor. The man was melting where he touched the gap.

"If you open that door we will die too" Clint pleaded to him with red-rimmed eyes, "He is gone, Steve." He said softly.

 _Nononononono_ , Steve chanted on his mind. _Tony couldn’t be gone like that. It has to be a dream, a nightmare_ , the soldier tried to tell himself.

“I’m sorry Steve, this is real” He heard Nat say.

Suddenly the lights went on, but the three Avengers didn’t pay attention, too immersed in their pain.

REBOOTING... ALL SYSTEMS ARE OPERATIONAL. PRESENCE OF HARMFUL GAS DETECTED. STARTING DEFENSE PROTOCOL. GAS FILTRATION WAS A SUCCESS. PRESENCE OF INTRUDERS DETECTED. CALLING SECURITY…

Jarvis’s voice took them all by surprise. But the only thing Steve’s registered was that Tony’s room was clear from the gas.

The big blond stepped slowly aside from the spies and went to the door; he kicked away the yellow-clad corpse and with trembling hands pushed the door open, preparing his mind for the worst.

Steve froze like a broken system, not computing the empty room. He hears Natasha and Clint also enter behind him.

“Oh, no! Jarvis, I’m so sorry, there is nothing left of Tony to bury” Clint says softly with a tear falling down on his cheek.

Steve feels like passing out, a small hand laches to his. He looks up to see Nat red-rimmed eyes.

“Excuse me Mr. Barton, but what are you referring? Sir is well and resting” Jarvis points out.

“Oh, Jarvis! You blacked out for a moment. Tony was attacked” Nat said in pain, clenching her hands on Steve’s.

“I am aware the tower was attacked, SHIELD is on the way, ETA five minutes. Sir’s vital sign is strong and steady”

“What!” Steve cries out, is Jarvis malfunctioning, not able to process the loss of his creator?! “Where is he then, Jarvis!” the soldier tried to contain the anger out of his tone, it wasn’t the AI’s fault, after all, he was just a program.

“Sir is on the other side of the door near the curtains,” Jarvis said, surprising everyone.

They approached the door as one, like in a trance. The big closet was also empty.

Clint glanced up to say something but Steve stopped him, motioning them to be quiet.

The soldier’s enhanced hearing caught the little snore that Tony makes when he sleeps, the sound Steve imprinted on his brain when he carried the genius to bed once, after a science binge.

Steve tracked the sound to the far corner of the room; Clint and Natasha following clueless.

Steve bent down and pushed the expensive suits aside, and there was his genius. Sleeping like a puppy in a cold day, all curled up on himself.

Steve’s eyes softened, a smile forming on his face. He heard Clint bark a laugh and felt Nat’s hand squeezing his left shoulder.

They watched Tony stir and flutter his eyes, the signs of waking up.

“The mission didn’t affect me my ass” Clint repeated what Tony had told them ealier, before going to his bedroom.

Steve sat on the ground and pushed the pillow sans Tony to his lap.

“SHIELD personal has arrived” Jarvis warned.

“We deal with them,” Natasha said, pushing Clint away by the sleeve, what proved to be difficult, Clint was excited and almost jumping on his feet.

“Nat, can you believe it!? Tony has a nest too” The archer cheered up, making plans on his mind to show Tony his nest in the vents.

“Kids” Nat sighed and closed the door, leaving Steve and Tony undisturbed; by the Captain’s face, he was probably going to solve his UST with the genius, a thing the whole team would be glad for.

Steve gently pushed aside a stray of brown hair from the genius forehead, observing the big hazel eyes fickler open and latch on him.

“Steve” Tony mumbled uncoordinated, not understanding why the soldier was there.

“Oh, Tony” Steve hugged him tight to his chest; not caring for Tony’s cute puzzled expression. “I can’t wait anymore… I love you!”

Steve felt the brunet stiffen on his arms, but the soldier just held him tighter.

“Must be a dream” He heard the genius mutter in an awed tone, and then, Tony was hugging him too, lithe hands clutching his t-shirt.

Steve wanted to laugh at the surreal situation they were in. The soldier gently pushed Tony’s head away from his shoulder to look at him, “Why are you in the closet, babe” he asked tenderly.

Tony blushed and then downed to him that he was not in fact dreaming, Steve observed panic color the genius face and the realization of where he was seating.

“Oh my god, Steve” Tony tried to get out of his lap, “You aren’t supposed to see this,” he said sadly.

Steve didn’t let him go, he waited too long to have the brunet on his arms. “I love you, Tony, all the parts of you,” he said with a smile so tender that almost made the genius swoon.

Tony looked down “Even the broken parts that hide in the closet” he said quietly, waiting for judgment.

“Especially this one, you're alive because of it” Steve couldn’t contain a tear from falling, remembering what felt like losing Tony.

The brunet was frowning at him, clearly oblivious of what transpired on his apartment, so Steve bent down and whispered “I tell you later” before kissing him full on the lips.

Tony moaned under him, and that was all Steve cared about.

 

─═☆☆═─

 

After the clean up on his floor and the months that followed, the thing Tony most likes on sleeping on his bed is the fact he is never alone. And no one can see him with a huge super soldier covering him from sight.

He feels safe and protected. And peaceful sleep always comes to him.

 

-end.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. see you xD.


End file.
